KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
OVERVIEW Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) maintained its monetary policy stance at the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Mar 9. The Overnight Policy rate was left unchanged at 3.25% for the tenth straight MPC meeting or since July 2014. The Statutory Reserve Requirement (SRR) was also left unchanged at 3.50% after a 50 basis point cut at the previous meeting on Jan 21. The decision to leave the SRR unchanged at the March meeting is in line with our expectations but does not rule out the possibility of another cut later this year to address banking system liquidity concerns. Among major regional central banks, Bank Indonesia was alone in easing monetary policy this year. Almost all other central banks in the region including the People’s Bank of China and Reserve Bank of India decided to leave policy rates unchanged this year after making rate cuts last year. In its monetary policy statement, BNM reiterated that domestic financial conditions have since stabilised, althoug...